Sunday, April 08, 2007

This Thai Red Curry is for GBP and also my dear friend N who has no clue that this blog exists.
N is the first Bong friend I had made after coming to US and when I think of it now, I cringe thinking of the way I befriended her
It had been more than two months that we had arrived and I was yet to meet a single Bengali soul, not considering the hubby of course. How I pined to gossip in Bengali, to chat with someone about Kolkata, to ask someone the best place to buy Hilsa. But there was none.

Of course there were the Bong organizations like all other cultural desi organizations beckoning to you with a smile in return for the yearly membership fee. But no, D would not be a part of them, he flatly refused to be part of the Bengali milieu that spoke and talked about a Bengal they had left some thirty odd years back. Though D is a Bengali and has grown up in Bengal unlike me who stayed outside Bengal for a considerable time, he lacks the full dosage of Bangaliana (the Bengaliness) a true blood Bengali has and was as happy in absence of the above.
Ok but this about N and not D so let’s not deviate

In my then state of frustration I was walking the aisles of K-Mart in lack of better things to do, when I hear fragments of Bengali being spoken in the neighboring aisle. I peered and I see this young couple, the girl in a Salwar-Kameez talking animatedly to her husband about some mundane K-Martish stuff.
I felt an immense urge to butt in and join in their discussion, voicing my opinion too in Bengali and then maybe inviting them over. But I restrained, I was frustrated yes, but still short of being labeled a lunatic.

Back at the Parking Lot while I was getting into my car, they were there too, lugging something into their trunk. I felt the urge again and this time asked D. D being the non-passionate Bong refused to play a role but gave me leeway to do things I wanted. The couple in the mean time were closing the trunk and revving the car. In a sheer state of desperation I bolted toward their car, said “Hi” muttered something about me being Bengali and it would be nice if we could meet etc. and scribbled my number on one of D’s business cards and ran. Yeah I just ran back while they stood there patiently, quizzically…

Then one day she called and I called and as they say – Rest is History

N has since grown to be my best friend. Though she is younger to me and is a English major, she was kind and patient enough to let me explain my tacky tech assignments to her while I attended grad school. She still listens to all my woes, gives me all her support and occasionally chats up my 3 yr old too. She is an awesome human being and a great friend and a foodie at heart and yesterday was her twins – 2 cute boys first birthday. Lots of happiness to them and their Mom & Dad

Recently N & her family were on house hunt and almost every weekend they would be out with the twins. If they were in my 15 mile radius I would ask them to drop by for lunch. Since N loves Thai food I made Thai Red Curry with Chicken for her on the weekend they finally decided on a house they liked. I served it with a Fried Rice, but its best with White Jasmine Rice. Just like N we love Thai Food too and this curry came out perfect. I often use shrimp instead of Chicken in this recipe and that comes out better.

I mostly frameworked my recipe from here - this site. I did throw in my own steps but the whole thing is pretty easy and quick and you can mould it around your comfort level. I did not use Fish Sauce as I had none. The recipe says chicken stock and cornstarch, but I don't think you need these. I also do not exactly remember the measures as I did this a month back, so give me some leeway there too

How I Did ItMarinade the chicken pieces with 1 tbsp of vinegar, salt and 1 tsp each of ginger paste and garlic paste. I did this because I cannot have chicken when it has not been marinaded, I get a smell !!!Heat Oil in a Wok/Frying PanAdd 1 clove of minced garlic and 4 Basil leaves(no need to chop them)When you get the fragrance of Basil and Garlic, remove the garlic and the basil leaves from the hot oil. Now you get a beautifully flavored oil which you use for rest of the recipeNow to this oil add the chicken pieces, lightly brown them and remove and keep asideAdd Onion paste and fry till it turns pinkAdd 1 clove of minced garlicSauté and add the red bell pepperWhen the Pepper turns soft add the Red Curry Paste. I added the entire content of the can. It was fiery spicy but I liked it. You may like to reduce the level if you wishCook for couple of minutes and then add the Coconut Milk. You may need to add ½ or more cups of water at this point.Let it come to a boil and add the remaining Basil LeavesAdd the chicken pieces and let it simmer at medium heatAdd salt and 1 tsp sugar and cook to desired consistencyAdd the Lime Zest or Kafir Lime Leaves

Trivia: The word basil comes from the Greek βασιλευς (basileus), meaning "king", as it is believed to have grown above the spot where St. Constantine and Helen discovered the Holy Cross (Source: Wiki)

47 comments:

Hahaha, whats with you bongs, obsessed with meeting other bongs? :) . My friend has a very similar story, she is a mallu who grew up in Calcutta, she befriended a girl in the mall, just because she heard her talking in Bengali, now they are best friends!!! Your story is so similar, I was laughing out loud reading this, sending this link out to her.

Hahaha! For me it was the other way round, here in Middle East, everyone incl shopkeepers speak in Malayalam (that never happened in Mumbai) and I clam up coz I don't have a typical accent like them- my Malayalam sounds very anglacized!! :) Thanks for the recipe, I like red curry.

Such a sweet story of friendship.. sigh... :) But I totally understand that desire to reach out to your compatriots! :) In Singapore, I'd never be half as friendly to my fellow Singaporeans! But abroad, it's a different story! :)

Well, what does N think of your blog then?

Heh heh, I "cheat", too, always using a ready-made red curry paste. Gosh, I haven't made this in ages! I make mine pretty much like yours, but I usually add Thai baby aubergines, those little pale green balls.

You are a great friend Sandeepa.It is imp to have like minded ppl around you.I meet some Karnataka ppl too but it becomes one way!I am always entertaining them and they never invite us!!!So I don't bother anymore!:)

We love thai food...the green curry is also a favourite with us!I love your sweet story and can totally relate to it..having done the same in Japan at the railway station..saw a guy..he spoke in bengali to a fellow guy..I just went up to him and said (in bengali)"I havent eaten anything for 2 days due to language problem..can you show me where to buy something which I can eat?" I had just landed in Japan with the idea that everyone speaks english!!!After that we became very close friends,,..and he still relates this story as a joke in gatherings of how he got "introduced" to me!

SigHa, ha one of my husband's close friend (from school but now he has disappeared !!!) was aMallu but he spoke Bangla so well

CoffeeActually the recipe on the can says to use Thai Brinjal etc. try that

JyothsnaYeah that is like something D would do :)

SherThanks. You are too sweet w::)

ReenaEven we say that now. Had we known about AMway we could never have been friends :)

ShilpaN doesn't know that this Blog exists. I intend to let my Blog Life be totally separete from the real one. Except D & my parents no one in real life knows about my Blog :)

IndoI have had terrible Amway experiences too but later. Try this chicken and if you can make your red curry paste better, else it is pretty quick

PaddukotiThanks

AshaYeah you need some good friends around. I think these people you are talking about were not friends just a bunch of rude peopleBut its not same level of friendship with all people we know even here. With some we meet/talk only when we go to their home for some party or they come to ours -- not really friends I would say

AnamikaProblem is, its me who is the "Probashi" bangali. D is not from Kolkata but an industrial town in WB just 3 hrs away so he should have been more Bong

AnonI don't know I always feel japanese are so busy that finding a Bangali adda there would have been a gift

Hahahha, I was like you when I moved to VA, My husband is just like "D":). Thankfully my friends from CA use to call me everyday and as well my pregnancy & winter kept in away from knocking neighbors doors:D

Red curry(veg) is one of favorite and I often make this along with basil fried rice, will post the recipe sometime.

Hi Sandeepa!Loved your story. Chance meetings often lead to beautiful friendships that last forever. I love the idea of putting lemon zest in the thai curry. Will try it next time. Thanks!BTW - About your comment on my Bread sticks...I can forgive your spelling mistakes as long as you had not mis-spelt 'bekaar' as 'bekaraar':)

~sigh~ its difficult to find indians, forget abt people from same region, where we stay. i can totally understand how u must have felt the urge to go n talk to them. many times i too feel the same but with the cold looks they give i stay away. even if i try to start convo they give that weird look as if i am after something. so thats the end of my "make some friends" story:)

sandeepa, i am still the shy one. i never pluck up courage to talk to strangers!probably coz my brother warned me of amway hawkers.:) but great that u made a friend thru that. love the color of ur curry. which is ur favorite thai place in NJ?

What a delicious curry! I have yet to try my hands at Thai cooking, but you are inspiring me to give it a shot. I am sure this curry could be veggified quite easily. Thanks for sharing. Oh, and love the story too!

Sandeepa is'nt it amazing how a total stranger can grow to be a dear friend...as for the curry, it definitely looks red-probably a little less heat would do it for me...but honestly it does look good...your friend's lucky...

ShivapriyaOMG you know I have to prod D to talk at times when we are visiting people he doesn't know well :)

HemaNo,No I meant "BEKARAAR". With the stuff you bake the other word doesn't even cross my mind

ShnGood to know you are up & about :)

MusicalNo one would believe me but this again hapened with me last year. We were at "Levitz" a furniture store and this girl/lady comes up smiles, talks about my daughter (now that is a easier conv starter) and then goes on to tell me why a particular dining table would not be right for her dining place :) !!! This time I was weary because of Amway exp.and but she turned out to be a great person and now is a good friend too

LindaThats a nice idea for all you veggie lovers. TRY WITH TOFU as Linda says

I love Thai food and I have tried the Green/Red/Panang curries at home. I usually substitute tofu for chicken - not that I am a vegetarian; just because I love tofu. I am going to try your Red curry with chicken; it looks delicious just like all your dishes :-)

This is funny, I am a Probashi Bangali and don't have Bangaliana as you say (took some time to figure that word) and I cringe whenever I am told to get aquainted just because you hear a bangla word dropped. But I have seen a seemingly unknown bond getting built whenever a bong meets another bong. And I have seen with Bongs I have met they have built a bond with me much better than they build it with anyone else.

Sandeepa, The story of mine was very different. When I first came from India to Us(we were in port chester, NY then) I so desperately wanted to see Indians and I just couldn't find any other desis other than us. Now that I am in NJ its opposite. There are a whole lot of Indians and somehow not all of them are friendly. They have this " don't bother us" kind of look on their face. Anyways coming to your red curry...it looks gorgeous Sandeepa. There is a Thai place called Four Seasons very close to my place and they have best Thai food that we have had till date. Your curry looks exactly like theirs. Now thats a compliment. I am serious!!!Lovely. I am gonna try it with some veggies.

SeemaWe used to go to Four Seasons when I was studying as it was very close to my univ. It was pretty good. But haven't been there now for a long timeOne of my friend was saying they now have a small grocery section and carry Kafir Lime leaves too. Did you ever try that ?

Uff ki yuummmm. I love thai food. Bohudin baade red curry dekhe jibhey jol eshe gelo :P And tis urge to express it in Bangla. You know how true appreciation for good food, has to be in one's mother tongue! I desperately need some good recipes for G.She's got very sharp taste buds and I don't have the patience to cook fancy food after work every evening. So turn to your blog :)

Nice to read ur friendship story Sandeepa. U are one lucky girl to get a good friend like N. I know abt the urge when we meet people who speak our own language. But somehow Iam yet to meet a peson like N.Thai curry looks great.lovely presentation.

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About Me

Predominantly a Bong, who loves being a Mom and loves to cook among other things for the li'l one and the big ones.She loves to write too and you will find her food spiced up with stories. Mainly a collection of Bengali Recipes with other kinds thrown in, in good measure. A Snapshot of Bengali Cuisine